Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky, who missed six games because of a bone bruise in his ankle, is expected to return tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“It should be a big lift,” coach Todd Richards said. “We’ll find out, but it should be a shot in the arm for our team. He brings so much speed and tenacity with his play.”

Dubinsky will start the game in the middle of the third line, with Matt Calvert on his left and Blake Comeau on his right.

On Nov. 19, Dubinsky slammed feet-first into the boards during a 7-0 loss in Edmonton.

At first, the club worried he might have suffered a broken ankle or a high-ankle sprain, but both were ruled out in the days that followed.

“Once I can tolerate the pain, I can play,” Dubinsky said last week. He started to see marked improvement late last week.

Since the Blue Jackets acquired Dubinsky from the New York Rangers in the summer of 2012, he’s missed 25 of the team’s 75 games. The Jackets are 13-9-3 in those games.

Richards was thrilled to have Dubinsky back in the mix.

“I think our practice gets better when he’s on the ice with us,” Richards said. “Another guy who has impacted our practices is (injured right wing Nathan) Horton. He’s not able to do all the drills — not the contact drills — but he does it right. It’s the habits he has, the ones that come with being part of a winning program.”

Good news

Horton, who had offseason shoulder surgery, is still weeks away from playing, although he has started using heavier weights in recent workouts.

Right wing Marian Gaborik is still at least a couple of weeks away after a knee sprain.

But the return of Dubinsky tonight could be followed by the return of center Derek MacKenzie (back spasms) on Friday and right wing Jared Boll (foot) next week.

‘Dad, how could you?’

Kerby Rychel, the No. 19 overall pick by the Blue Jackets in June, was traded by the Windsor Spitfires to the Guelph Storm yesterday, according to a report in the Guelph (Ontario) Mercury.

The Spitfires denied the report, but there is rampant speculation in Windsor that general manager Warren Rychel is going to unload his veteran players — Rychel and defenseman Slater Koekkoek — to load up for a future run at the Memorial Cup.

Yes, Warren Rychel is Kerby Rychel’s father.

Rychel, 19, has 16 goals, 23 assists and a plus-13 rating in 27 games with Windsor this season.

Canada calls

Rychel and forward Josh Anderson, a fourth-round pick (No. 95 overall) by the Blue Jackets in 2012, were named to Team Canada’s 25-man roster for the upcoming world junior championship.

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